Lagoon 450 Papillon

It has always been my dream as a boy to buy a sailboat and sail around the world. It took me almost 45 years before I had the means to realise that dream.

In 2014, I was shopping around for my dream boat. I didn’t know anything about boats and I didn’t know anything about sailing. So, where do you start?

I approached the matter like running a business, gathering as much information as I could and analysing it.

We hesitated on the decision between buying a secondhand vessel and a brand new vessel.

Finally, we decided to buy a new yacht and are very happy we did. While we didn’t know it at the time, after two years sailing around the world we know we made the right decision. One thing is sure: to cross oceans you need the best vessel that you can find because your life depends on it.

After having crossed the Indian Ocean as well as South and North Atlantic, I know I made the right choice. Oceans are not seas; it’s not cruising peacefully along the coast, but indeed long voyages in the middle of a huge amount of water, which we call an ocean, where winds can pick up to 50–60 knots and where waves can grow six to eight metres high. But with a good vessel you will pass any tests that Mother Nature throws at you.

When you sail around the world, you will put stress on the vessel and its equipment. Equipment will breakdown! A major plus with Lagoon, the yacht brand we chose, is that everything is very well documented and all parts are available all over the globe.

Also, the After Sales Service from Simpson Marine Thailand helped us out a lot. Wherever we were, we were in contact and we had the technical support from Simpson Marine at all times. You cannot imagine how much a Sat-phone and some technical knowledge can do in the middle of the ocean!

Then there is the size of the vessel. I needed a vessel that I could sail by myself. We are only two people with one little dog. I looked at the Lagoon 52 and larger, but the only way to safely sail these vessels are with a crew, and I am not sailing around the world to have strangers on my boat – so that was not an option for me. Furthermore, the bigger the vessel, the higher the mooring/berth fees. With a catamaran you already pay more than for a monohull, and once you pass the length of a 50 feet, the prices can rise even more.

In 2014, we decided to buy a Lagoon 450 sailing catamaran from Simpson Marine. We berthed the yacht in the Ao Po Marina in Phuket and started with short trips in the Thai waters to get our feet wet. The whole staff from Simpson Marine was very helpful. I remember the day the vessel arrived in Ao Po and it looked bigger than I expected! I was afraid to get it out of the marina. But no worries here, the Simpson staff helped me through all the little steps, and soon we were sailing this big vessel around the bay…and my dream became reality.

The next step was to prepare the boat for the world tour. Simpson Marine Thailand’s team is experienced in helping yachtsmen prepare a vessel for this kind of passage. With their advice, we upgraded the vessel in many ways. After two years of sailing, we can say that all decisions we made at that time were the correct ones, and we have enjoyed such a fantastic time with our Lagoon!

Now, we’ve arrived at the end of our voyage and we are already thinking of buying our next vessel, which will be the Lagoon 450 SporTop. We are keeping the size but going forward with the
adventure and speed.